An evening in Adelaide: Mothervine, Osteria Oggi and The Exeter

Had a lovely evening in Adelaide on Wednesday. We began at Mothervine, which is a really good wine bar. There’s just such a good list here, which spans Australian and European, with a nice mix of conventional and more natural. First up, a lovely 2014 Kabinett from Prum, which was so taut and fine, and beautifully balanced. Then it was time for some Gamay: the Farr 2015 was lovely, with a really distinctive personality. There was some green stemminess, but it fitted nicely into the context of sweet pure fruit. Then a real surprise: a gorgeous blend of Tempranillo and Touriga Nacional from SC Pannell in the McLaren Vale.

By this stage we were getting hungry, so we headed over to Osteria Oggi. This is a brilliant restaurant. Really brilliant. We ate so well and drank Chianti and Barbera. The food here is perfectly executed and utterly delicious: the mushroom risotto with its generous truffling was quite beautiful. Crab tagliatelle was also fab.

Finally, time for a good old Aussie pub. The Exeter. We met up with others and got involved in a game of darts. And drank beer. But I clearly hadn’t drunk enough – just a few more beers and my aim would have been truer and my release smoother. It was a lovely evening.